The present invention relates generally to napkin dispensers and in a preferred embodiment to a gravity feed countertop mounted napkin dispenser having a base secured to a countertop with a quick release mounting bracket.
Dispensers for napkins including inter-folded napkins are well known in the art. Typically such dispensers are spring-loaded dispensers as is shown, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,454 to Salzmann et al. This class of dispensers are typically placed on a countertop. There is shown in the ""454 patent a napkin dispenser including a drawer which slides in and out of the housing and a push plate which also slides in the housing and is spring-biased to push the napkins forward. A pair of locks on the rear of the drawer in the preferred napkin dispenser pushes the plate forward when the drawer is open but pivot to release the push plate when the drawer is closed so the napkins are not pressed too tightly, even if napkins are overloaded in the drawer when it is open.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,703 to De Luca discloses a napkin dispenser configured to reduce bunching at the dispensing opening in the napkin dispenser. A pair of pressure relief rods are provided along the upper and lower portions of the dispenser face plate to relieve pressure between the face plate and the center portion of the napkin stack.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,415 to Radek shows a napkin dispenser designed for disposition on a restaurant table or counter housing a stack of paper napkins. The dispenser is in the form of a parallelepiped with a top axis opening for loading and removing napkins. The opening is generally rectangular or may taper slightly from one end to the other. A salient feature is that the edges of the opening extend outwardly providing a relatively narrow peripheral arcuate flange or lip around the opening, the effect of which is to lead a napkin gently outwardly without likelihood of damage to the exiting napkins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,252 to Hope, Jr. et al. discloses a large capacity elevator type napkin dispenser including an elongated supporting structure or cage composed of series of spaced rod-like vertical supports. A stack of folded napkins is supported on a pressure plate that is mounted on a carriage adapted to slide vertically within the cage, whereas U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,442, also to Radek discloses a napkin dispenser provided with an aperture which is generally rectangular except for a concavely arcuate edge on one side from which the napkins are normally extracted. Two opposed sides of the opening normal to the arcuate edge are provided with a pair of relatively narrow spring-biased leaves resiliently extendable into the container to facilitate loading, the free edges of the leaves being longitudinally gently oblique and widening to the aforesaid arcuate edge. Each of the leaves has a longitudinal outwardly turned lip and the exposed corners of the leaves are rounded. The features are reported to contribute towards a convenient extraction of a napkin without damage.
As will be appreciated from the foregoing, spring-biased dispensers are prone to overfilling and malfunction and may damage product if the dispensers are misused. Gravity feed dispensers are simpler and less subject to malfunction; however they are more difficult to conveniently locate in establishments which require countertop access to the napkins.
There is provided generally in accordance with the invention a countertop mounting base and bracket for releasably securing a napkin dispenser attached to the base. The mounting system includes a base having a generally planar upper surface and a sidewall extending downwardly therefrom to define a hollow cavity and also defining a stepped locking recess having an upper portion with a first recess width and a lower portion with a second recess width where the upper locking recess width is smaller than the lower locking recess width. The base is also provided with a plurality of locking projections in the hollow cavity having locking shoulders thereon each of which has a characteristic locking shoulder width. The base cooperates with a mounting bracket provided with means for attaching the bracket to a countertop. The bracket has a raised central locking surface provided with a moveable tongue adapted to flex with respect to the locking surface from a locking position to a release position. The tongue is provided with a stepped outer profile defining an outer width which is less than equal to the upper recess width of the base. The tongue also has a locking width which is greater than the upper recess width of the base, the locking surface of the mounting bracket being further provided with a plurality of locking slots with open portions having widths at least as great as a corresponding characteristic width of a locking shoulder of a corresponding locking projection of the base. The locking slots of the locking surface also have elongated narrow portions with widths smaller than corresponding characteristic widths of locking shoulders of locking projections of the base. The base and mounting bracket are configured such that the locking projections of the base may be inserted into the open portions of the locking slots and the base slid into the locking position with the bracket wherein the shoulders of the locking projections of the base are secured from vertical translation away from the locking position by the elongated narrow portions of the locking slots of the raised central locking surface of the mounting bracket. The base is concurrently prevented from horizontal translation away from the locking position by the locking width of the tongue until the tongue is flexed downwardly to its release position.
Typically the base further includes a post for mounting a napkin dispenser, such as a gravity feed napkin dispenser of the general class disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/213,575, filed Aug. 7, 2002, entitled xe2x80x9cGravity-Feed Dispenser and Method of Dispensing Inter-Folded Napkinsxe2x80x9dthe disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. So also, in a preferred embodiment the mounting bracket is stamped from sheet metal and the base is cast from white metal.
Generally, the tongue requires a force of from about 2 to about 10 pounds to move it from the locking position to the release position. In the locking position, the tongue may be generally co-planar with the raised locking surface of the mounting bracket or it may be elevated slightly in portions if so desired. Typically, the tongue requires a force of from about 4 to about 6 pounds to move it from the locking position to the release position.
In a preferred embodiment the assembly of the bracket and base includes biasing means to urge the base and bracket into engagement with each other in the locking position. The biasing means may be, for example, upwardly raised portions defined on the mounting bracket and downwardly projecting ridges on the base located within the hollow cavity. There are optionally provided guide ridges on the base as described hereinafter. The upper portion of the stepped locking recess of the base typically has an L-shaped profile as does a lower portion of the stepped locking recess of the base. The stepped outer profile of the tongue is also generally L-shaped on both sides and may include an arcuate central portion at the end of the tongue.
A particularly preferred arrangement is a countertop mounting base and bracket for releasably securing a napkin dispenser including a base with a generally planar upper surface and a sidewall extending downwardly therefrom to define a hollow cavity wherein there is provided a plurality of downwardly extending vertical ribs including at least two longitudinally extending mounting ribs each of which is provided with at least one engagement ridge thereon. The sidewall also defines a stepped locking recess having an upper portion with a first recessed width and a lower portion with a second recessed width where the upper recessed width is smaller than the lower recessed width. A base is further provided with a plurality of locking projections in the hollow cavity having locking shoulders each of which has a characteristic locking shoulder width.
The mounting bracket is provided with means for securing it to the countertop as well as at least two longitudinal guide tracks each of which has at least one raised engagement portion for interacting with the engagement ridges of the mounting ribs of the base. The bracket further includes a raised central locking surface between the longitudinal guide tracks provided with a moveable tongue adapted to flex with respect to the locking surface from a locking position to a release position, the tongue being provided with a stepped outer profile defining an outer width which is less than equal to the upper recess width of the base and a locking width which is greater than the upper recessed width of the base. The locking surface of the mounting bracket is still further provided with a plurality of locking slots with open portions having widths at least as great as the corresponding characteristic widths of the locking shoulders of the locking projections of the base and elongated narrow portions having widths smaller than corresponding characteristic widths of locking shoulders of locking projections of the base. The base and mounting bracket are configured such that the locking projections on the base may be inserted into the open portions of the locking slots and the base slid into the locking position with the bracket wherein the shoulders of the locking projections of the base are secured from translation away from the locking position by the elongated narrow portions of the locking slots of the raised central locking surface of the mounting bracket. The base is prevented from horizontal translation away from the locking position by the locking width of the tongue until the tongue is flexed downwardly to its release position. In this preferred embodiment the engagement ridges of the base and the raised engagement portions of the mounting bracket urge the mounting bracket and the base into engagement with each other. The engagement portions of the mounting bracket are preferably arcuate portions of the guide tracks of the mounting bracket.